The present invention relates to a casket, and particularly, to hardware bosses for mounting a handle to a casket shell of the casket. More particularly, the present invention relates to a casket with integral, contiguous hardware bosses that are formed in side walls of the casket shell of the casket.
Many caskets are provided with "swing bar type" handles or handles mounted on "swing hardware." Conventional swing hardware includes one or more bosses, a handle swingably mounted to the bosses, and bolts or screws for attaching the bosses to the casket shell. The handle swings outwardly from a non-operative position to an outward operative position relative to the bosses and casket shell when the casket is to be carried. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,204,286 to Hillenbrand and 3,657,764 to Relly et al., both of which are assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Swing hardware permits the person carrying the casket to grasp the handle without engaging the casket shell while also permitting the handle and associated hardware to fit within a limited envelope of space surrounding the casket during storage, during transport on shipping pallets or in shipping containers, and during use when the casket is placed into a mausoleum or a burial vault.
Caskets having handles fixed relative to the casket shell are also known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,337,556 to Winburn et al. and 4,312,104 to Baker et al., both of which are assigned to the assignee of the present invention, each show caskets having handles that are fixed relative to the shell. In addition, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,930,197 to McClive; 3,681,820 to Jalbert; 2,494,473 to Dowling; 2,392,298 to Thommen; 4,730,370 to Elder; 4,773,134 to Kay; 4,967,455 to Elder; 1,508,745 to Cassel; 2,655,712 to Glassner; 1,660,019 to Tazza; 1,730,666 to Listing; 2,974,390 to Nelson; 3,406,229 to Cenegy; and 4,829,639 to Woedl et al. all disclose caskets having handles that are fixed relative to the casket shell. Conventional fixed handles include one or more bosses, a grip bar fixed to the bosses, and bolts or screws for attaching the bosses to the casket shell. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,930,197 to McClive and 3,490,114 to Connelly et al.
What is needed is a casket having a casket shell with hardware bosses formed integrally and contiguously with a side wall thereof and adapted to allow either a single-piece or multiple-piece handle to be mounted to the casket shell without the use of bolts or screws. The integral hardware bosses should allow mounting of either fixed handles or swingable handles to the casket shell. Casket manufacturers will appreciate that forming hardware bosses integrally with the casket shell reduces the number of separate components, such as bolts and screws, that must be handled during the construction of the casket.
According to the present invention, a casket includes a casket shell having a side wall with an outwardly facing side surface. The casket shell further includes a recessed wall offset inwardly from the side wall, a first transition wall integrally connecting the side and recessed walls, and a second transition wall spaced apart from the first transition wall and integrally connecting the side and recessed walls. The first and second transition walls cooperate with the recessed wall to define a cavity in the side wall to provide the casket with an internal hardware boss. The first and second transition walls are each formed to include a handle-receiving void. The casket further includes a handle having a first end received in the handle-receiving void of the first transition wall, a second end received in the handle-receiving void of the second transition wall, and a gripping portion between the first and second ends.
In some preferred embodiments, the handle is a swing-type handle that couples to the first and second transition walls for pivoting movement between a nonoperative position in which the gripping portion of the handle is positioned to lie inside the cavity and an outward position in which the gripping portion of the handle is positioned to lie outside the cavity. In other preferred embodiments, the handle is a straight bar extending between the first and second transition walls inside the cavity. In one embodiment of the present invention, the handle-receiving voids are apertures formed in the first and second transition walls and portions of the handle are received in the apertures. In another embodiment of the present invention, the handle-receiving voids are grooves formed in the first and second transition walls and end portions of the handle are received in the respective grooves.
Also according to the present invention, a casket includes a casket shell having a side wall with an outwardly facing side surface. The casket shell further includes a protruded wall offset outwardly from the side wall, a first transition wall integrally connecting the side wall and the protruded wall, and a second transition wall spaced apart from the first transition wall and integrally connecting the side wall and the protruded wall. The first and second transition walls cooperate with the protruded wall to define a protrusion in the side panel to provide the casket with an external hardware boss. The first and second transition walls each are formed to include a handle-receiving void. The casket further includes a handle having a portion received in at least one of the handle-receiving voids of the first and second transition walls. The handle includes a portion outside the handle-receiving void that can be gripped for carrying the casket.
In preferred embodiments, each of the handle-receiving voids of the external hardware boss can be either an aperture through which the handle extends, a groove in which an end portion of the handle is received, or a slot in each of the first and second transition walls. If the external hardware boss is provided with slots in the first and second transition walls, the external hardware boss will be provided with an opening that allows insertion of the handle into the slots. In addition, the boss can include material that extends between the first and second transition walls and that conforms to the shape of the slots to provide a channel extending through the hardware boss.
According to the present invention, a casket includes a casket shell having a longitudinal side wall formed to include a channel. The casket further includes a handle having an arm and a grip bar. The arm includes an end portion received in the channel to mount the handle to the casket shell. The channel has a cross section that prevents the handle from being moved transversely away from the side wall.
In a preferred embodiment, the channel has a female dove-tail shaped cross section and the end portion of the arm received in the channel has a male dove-tail shaped cross section. In addition, the casket includes one or more filler plugs that are inserted into the channel adjacent to the handle. The filler plugs include outer surfaces that are configured to be either flush with the side wall of the casket shell in which the channel is formed or to extend beyond the side wall of the casket shell. In one embodiment, the filler plugs include a piece of decorative molding and resilient fingers coupled to the piece of decorative molding. The resilient fingers snap into the channel to mount the piece of decorative molding to the casket shell.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the side wall is made of a sheet of material having an outer surface and an inner surface. The channel is formed in a portion of the sheet of material so as to provide the casket shell with a support ledge in an interior region of the casket shell. Another casket element, such as a mattress frame, can be supported in the interior region by the support ledge in spaced-apart relation with a bottom wall of the casket shell.
According to the present invention, a casket includes a casket shell having a longitudinal side wall formed to include a rail. The casket further includes a handle including an arm and a grip bar. The arm includes an end portion mounted on the rail. The rail has a cross section that prevents the handle from being moved transversely away from the side wall.
In a preferred embodiment, the rail has a male dove-tail shaped cross section and the end portion of the arm mounted on the rail has a female dove-tail shaped cross section. In such an embodiment, the handle may include a latch pivotably coupled to the arm for movement between a releasing position in which the latch is spaced apart from the rail to allow the handle to slide along the rail and a locking position in which the latch engages the rail to prevent the handle from sliding along the rail.
Thus, the integral hardware bosses of the present invention can be either external bosses that project away from the casket shell or internal bosses that are recessed into the casket shell. In addition, the integral hardware bosses of the present invention can be either rails or channels formed in the side walls of the casket shell. In each case, handles for carrying the casket are coupled to the hardware bosses that are formed integrally and contiguously with a side wall of the casket shell.
The handles mounted to the contiguous, integral hardware bosses of the present invention can include fixed handles and handles that swing relative to the hardware bosses. If handles that swing relative to the casket shell are provided, the casket shell in accordance with the present invention can accommodate the handle, and any hardware associated with the handle, within the internal hardware boss recessed into the casket shell. The handle and the swing hardware may be mounted so that the handle is received by the recessed portion and is flush with a generally vertical plane defined by the outer portion of the side wall when the handle is in the downward non-operative position and swings outwardly to the operative position when the casket is carried. Mounting the handle and swing hardware within the internal hardware boss provides for an efficient use of space allowing the size of the casket shell to be maximized while still fitting within the limited envelope of space surrounding the casket. According to the present invention, handles that swing relative to the casket shell can also be mounted to casket shells having external hardware bosses, channels, or rails formed in the side walls thereof.
Additional objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.